Coin controlled locking means



Aug- 21, 1934. G. J. M'GLAREN COIN CONTROLLED LOCKING MEANS A 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 23, 1931' Aug. 21, 1934. Gl 1 MCLAREN 1,971,228

COIN CONTROLLED LOCKING MEANS Filed July 23, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

| I l I I l l v I Patented vAug, 21, 1934 T [OFFlC i Claims.

This invention is directed to a coin controlled locking means for use in connection with coin controlled delivery apparatus involving a plurality of delivery receptacles capable of selective operation following the deposit of a coin; the improved means providing a free selection on the part of the operator but preventing operation of any other delivery means following an initial selection.

The lock-out mechanism of this invention is designed particularly for use in connection with a vending apparatus such as shown and described in an application filed by me August 7, 1930, Serial #423,627, wherein the articles to be vended are arranged in containers visible to the customer, with such containers selectively operable by the customer following the deposit of a proper coin. The operation of the containers is inaugurated by a push element related to the container selected so that the customer at his option may actuate any one of the containers following the coin deposit and receive the goods in such container.

It has been found by experiment that it is possible under rapid Yand practically coordinated action for the user to operate more than a, single delivery container following the deposit of a single coin, and thus the mechanism described in the application referred to is liable to improper operation.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a lock-out which, following the deposit of the proper coin, will still permit selective operation of one container, but which lockout mechanism immediately following the operation of a single container automatically locks out each and every other container, and further serves on the release of the actuating means for the selected container to lock the mechanism against any operation except by the deposit of a proper coin.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:- Figure 1 is a View in side elevation partly in section of the improved lock-out mechanism.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of the same.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the manually .-0 operable element serving to permit actuation of the selected container following the deposit of a coin.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the manually operable element in actuated position and illustrating the lock-out feature with respect to the remaining manually operable elements. Y l Y `Figure 5-is a perspective View of the lower section of the slide bar.

. Figure 6 is a perspective View of the coin 60 trigger.

Figure 7 is a broken perspective of the container.

The vending machine with which the improved lock-out mechanism is more particularly designed is described and claimed in the application above referred to and may, for a better understanding ofthe Ypresent invention, be briefly described as including a casing 1 provided with a seriesA of superimposed shelves 2, the rear por- '10'A tions of which are open at 3 to provide an unin--` terrupted vertical channel through which the selected goods are to be delivered. A container e is slidable on each shelf 2, this container being open at the bottom and provided at the forward KV end with spaced bars through'which the articles in the container may be visible through a transparent closure for the front of the casing.

When the container 4 is on the'forward portion of the shelf, which is its normalposition, the article or articles to be vended are arranged within the container and rest upon the shelf. When the container is released for rearward movement, as will later appear, such container moves toa po` sition above the opening in the shelf and thus the goods are moved olf of the solid portion of the shelf and delivered through the vertical opening to the bottornof the casing which is accessible to the customer. The containers are arranged in a vertical row and it is intended that following the deposit of a proper coin any container of such vertical row Ymay be selected for the delivery of the contained articleor articles.

The containers are automatically moved from a receiving position, that is, at the forward portion of the casing, to a delivery position atthe rear portion of the casing by Springs 5 connected to the rear wall of the casing between one side wall and an inner partition 6, the forward ends of the springs being connected to a pin 7 secured to the container and movable through a slot 8inV the partition. It is understood that the partition 6 forms in effect the side wall of the casing and that the lock-out mechanism which is arranged exteriorlyk of the casing is protected by a further wall or closure which extends in spaced parallel relation to the partition. The pins '7, to which the forward ends of the springs 5 are connected, serve as locking pins to hold the containers in their forwardy or non-delivery position against the 110 tension of the springs 5, there being pivotally supported upon the partition 6 a locking dog 9 for each container pivotally supported at 10 and having a shoulder 1l in the lower edge with which the pin engages to hold the container in its forward or non-delivery position. The dog 9 is so pivoted as to normally gravitate to a position to engage the pin 7, so that in loading the vending machine all that is necessary to do is to draw the containers forwardly, causing pins 7 to upwardly displace the forward end of the dogs, and as the pins move in advance of the shoulders 11, the dogs gravitate to a position to engage and hold the pins with the springs 5 extended or under tension. The forward ends of the lower edges of the dogs in advance of the shoulder 11 are upwardly inclined, as at 12.

The manually operable plunger is arranged for cooperation with each container to permit the selective operation of such container. This plunger is shown more particularly in Figure .3 and includes a plate section 13 having'at its forward end a lateral nger piece 14 and formed at its rear end to present a square terminal or oper` ating lug 15 at the upper edge of the rear edge, a lateral stop lug 16 immediately below and forwardly of the lug 15, and an extended guide bar 17 below the stop 16. The nger piece 14 and stop` 16 project laterally from the manually operable element 13 in spaced parallel relation, as shown. l

Y The manually operable member is guided through a guiding element 18 xed upon the partition 6 in such position that in the inward movement of the manually operablemember the operating lug 15 will engage beneath the inclined edge 12 of the dog 9 and move the dog upwardly to release the pin 7 from the shoulder 11 and thus permit the spring to move the selected container to a position to discharge the articles therein. A Spring 19 terminally secured tothe partition and depending in loop form, with its free terminal bearing against the end of the guide bar, serves to return the manually operable member to normal position following operation.

It is understood that each container is provided with a manually operable member so that any selected container may be released for operation and the lock-out mechanism to be, described is arranged for cooperation with the particular manually operable members. vThe lock-out mecha-L nism includes a series of elongated guiding elements 20 arranged in vertical alignment and spaced apart a. suliicient distance to. permit the .1 movement. of the manually operable members therebetween. These guiding elements, which are ofY rectangular form in cross section, slidably house locking bars 21, the lower edges 22 of which are in a line directly transverse the guiding elements, while their upper ends present an upwardly and rearwardly inclined forward edge 23. The lower locking bar 21 is extended at 24 below the lower guide 20, and this extended portion is terminally guided in a member 25 having ears'26 at the upperend to overlie and guide the locking bar` extension,` the ylower edge of the member 25 below the lower edge of the locking bar extension having an outstanding ilange 27. The locking bar 21 in the upper guide 20 is xed with respect to that guide, and the extension 24 of the lower dened by the inclined portion in contact with the square lower edges of the immediately superimposed locking bar.

The locking bars 21 are so arranged in the guides 20 that they overlie the manually operable element 13, that is, overlie the main surface thereof so that the inclined edge of a locking bar is in the path of movement of the ringer piece 14 of such manually operable element. As the straight edge of an upper locking bar overlies the manually operable member, the finger piece 14 of such member is recessed at 29 to permit the member to move without obstruction from such portion of the upper locking bar.

The extension 2li of the lower locking bar 21 is formed in the edge with a recess 3e and a coin control locking lever 31 is pivotally mounted in the partition 6 at 32. rl`his locking lever has a longarm 33 which extends into a portion of the coin chute 34 and is adapted to be deiiected by the weight or" a coin, indicated at 35, falling through said chute. The locking lever includes av short 'arm 36 arranged at right angles to the long arm 33 and having a lateral nose 37 designed to enter the recess 3) when the lower locking bar is at its upward limit of movement under the influence of the spring 28.

The locking lever is provided with a U-shaped spring 39 secured at one end to the partition and at the opposite end of the locking lever in line with the pivot, the spring serving as a balance spring for the lever and assisting in the movement of the lever in either direction when the lever-connected end of the spring is carried to one side or the other of the pivotal mounting. rI he looking lever, or more particularly the short arm 36 thereof, is provided with a spring pin 40 which extends laterally and at aninclination to the arm 36 and rests between the lower end of the extension 24 of the lower locking bar 21 and the flange 27 of the member 25.

Assuming the containers in receiving position with their pins locked in the shoulders 11 of the dogs 9, it is apparent that under the.r influence of the spring 28 the locking bars are elevated so that the upper inclined edge of each bar is in Contact with the lower square edge of the immediately superimposed bar. En this normal position, the nose end 37 of the bar 36 of the locking lever is in therecess 3D of the extension 24 of the lower locking bar and, therefore, vertical movement of any locking bar is impossible. On deposit of a coin, however, the long arm 33 of the locking lever is moved downwardly under the weight and inertia of the coin and the nose 37 of the short arm 36 of this leverr is rocked, out of the recess 30 of the lower looking bar 2l. The locking bars are thus free to move vertically but are normally held against this movement by the spring 28. The customer then presses inwardly upon the ringer piece 14 of the manually operable member, and as this manually operable member moves inwardly, the nger piece engaged in the inclined edge 23 of the locking bar in its path of movement moves said locking bar downwardly. No matter which of the locking bars is moved downwardly, all locking bars beneath the one directly moved are also moved downwardly. This movement, of course, is communicated to the lower locking bar and said lower locking bar is moved so that its recess, 30 is out of the path of movement of the nose 37 of ber to normal position.

locking bars cannot be moved downwardly. As the manually operable member continues its inward movement, the operating lug l engages the inclined edge 12 of the dog 9 and so swings the dog upwardly on its pivot lo, releasing the pin 7 of the selected container, and the container moves to discharge position under the iniluence of the spring 5.

As previously stated, the downward movement of any locking bar compels a similar downward movement of all lower iocking bars and locks out against downward movement all upper locking bars. Therefore, in the movement or" any manually operable member the lower locking bar is moved downwarly against the tension of the spring 28. This movement serves to displace the recess in the lower locking bar from the path of movement of the nose 37 of the locking lever, but the lower edge oi this lower looking bar engages the spring pin 4 8 and, moving the free end oi said pin downwardly, tilts the locking lever toward an operative locking position, this movement being assisted by the spring 39. This movement tends to move the nose 3'? of the short arm 36 of the locking lever into contact with the edge of the lower locking bar above the recess 30, as indicated in Figure 4. The spring 39, by reason of its position, is then under tension, tending to move the locking bar to full locking position, but

i this complete movement is resisted by the edge of the lower locking bar, as clearly seen in full lines in Figure l. When the pressure upon the nger piece lli of the manually operable member is released, the spring 19 tends to return the mein- As the nger piece rides away from the inclined edge oi the operated loclring bar, the spring 2 tends to move the locking bars which have been depressed to their normal position. in the return or" the lower locking bar to normal position, the recess 30 is brought into the path oi movement o the nose 37 of the locking lever and the spring 39 moves said lever so as to cause the nose 37 to seat in the recess 3o, whereupon the locking bars are again locked against downward movement except following the next operation or the locking lever by the deposit of a coin.

n the return movement of the manually operable member and the permitted upward movel ment of the depressed locking bars, the lug 16 coin may be deilected by a guide 42 following its lateral movement through the opening 41 and after the long arm of the lever has been returned to a position above the coin, with such deilector shaped so as to direct the coin back into the path of the coin chute `through the open bottom 43 thereof for deposit in the bottom of the casing.

From the above description, it will be apparent that the operation of any manually operable member for the actuation or" a selected container l will automatically lock out every other manually operable member for the actuation of one such member depresses all of the locking bars below the operated member and prevents any downward movement of the locking bars above said mem- ?"354 ber. All locking bars are held against movement until the coin controlled locking lever is released by the deposit of the coin and the 4 depression of any locking bar and the necessary following depression of all locking bars below such directly operated bar compels a return of the locking lever to a position which will insure its automatic locking ofsuch locking bars against downward movement on the return of the depressed locking bars to normal position following the release of the particularly actuated manual'- ly operable member. Thus it is impossible to actuate more than one manually operable member of the series controlled by the locking element, and as this series controls a vertical pair or set of containers, it is obviously impossible to obtain delivery from more than one container following the deposit of a single coin.

Of course, the vending machine as a whole may be made up of aseries of vertical rows of containers, each provided with its own manually operable member and each vertical series of containers provided with the locking mechanism described.

I claimt- 1. A coin controlled lock-out for vending machines including a superimposed series of manually operableelements, each controlling a single vending operation, a series of independent, vertically aligned locking bars having their edges norrally in contact in the plane of movement of the operating element, the lower end of each of said bars overlying the'element and presenting an edge parallel to the plane of movement of the element, the upper edge of each of said bars overlying the element and presenting an edge inclined to the path of movement of the element, a particular bar, together with all bars below such particular bar, being vertically displaced by the movement of the element through cooperation with the inclined edge of the bar, a coin operated lever having an end to engage a recess in the edge of the lowermost locking bar to prevent operative movement o any or the locking bars, a spring tending to move the locking lever to locking position, and means carried by the locking lever and engaged by the lowermost locking bar in the depression of any of the locking bars to move the lever toward locking position.

2. A coin controlled lock-out for vending machines including a superimposed series of manu-A ally operable elements, each controlling a single] vending operation, a series of independent, vertically aligned locking bars having their edges normally in contact in the plane of movement of the operating element, the lower end of each of said bars overlying the element and presenting an edge parallel to the plane of movement of the element, the upper edge of each of said bars overlying the element and presenting an edge inclined to the path of movement of the element, a particular bar, together with all bars below such particular bar, being vertically displaced by the movement of the element through cooperation with the inclined edge or the'bar, a manually operable element interlocking with and preventing movement of the locking bars above said element when the element is operated, a coin operated lever having an end to engage a recess in the edge of the lowermost locking bar to prevent operative movement of any of the locking bars,

a spring tending to move the locking lever to lool;-

ing position, and means carried by the locking lever and engaged by the lowermost locking bar in the depression of any of the locking bars to move the lever toward locking position.

3. A coin controlled loch-out for vending machinos including a series of vertically arranged, manually operable means for selectively compelling single delivery of a vending machine, a series of vertically aligned locking bars cooperating with said elements, said bars havingtheir upper ends inclined to the path of movement of the element and their lower ends parallel to the plane of movement of said elements, a spring for normally maintaining the locking bars in end contact, the movement of the element serving through the inclined upper end of the locking bars to depress the particular locking bar having its upper end adjacent the element and simultaneously depress all lower locking bars, a coin-tripped locking lever pivoted adjacent the lower end of the lower locking bar, said locking lever being springinuenced toward locking position, said locking lever being formed with a nose to engage in a recess in the edge of the lower locking bar to lock all locking bars against downward movement, a spring for normally holding all locking 'oars at their limit of upward movement, and means carried by the locking level' and actuated by the downward movement of the lower locking bar to move the nose of the locking lever into Contact with the edge of the lower locking bar above the recess therein, whereupon on freeing the locking bars from the influence of said element the lower locking bar moves upwardly to permit the nose of the locking lever to engage in said recess to look all locking bars against downward movement.

4. A coin controlled lock-out mechanism for vending machines including a plurality of manually operable vending elements arranged one alcove the other, a plurality of locking bars guided ,for movement transverse the plane of movement of the elements, locking bars having their meeting ends in contact and overlying the elements, the lower end of each bar being in line with the plane of movement of the elements and the upper end of each bar being inclined with respect to such plane of movement, said elements being formed to engage the upper inclined end of the contiguous looking bar and thereby depress all locking bars below such element, said element being formed to engage the lower edge of the contiguous locking bar to thereby lock all upper locking bars against downward movement during the operation of the element, coin controlled means for normally locking all bars against downward movement, said coin controlled means being inluenced toward locking position, a spring cooperating with the locking means to hold the locking means in unlocked position, said spring serving to inluece :ie locking means toward locking position following a predetermined movement or the locking means from the unlocked to the locked position, and means actuated by the downward movement or the lower locking bar to move the locking means to a position within the locking influence of said spring.

GERALD J. MCLAREN. [L.S.] l 

